Yoko Ono: Dream Together
In the organizer's words:
The exhibition brings together works from all phases of Ono's groundbreaking artistic career. The show will be presented on the occasion of the survey exhibition "YOKO ONO: MUSIC OF THE MIND", which can be seen at the Gropius Bau from April 11 to August 31, 2025. At the same time, the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.) will be presenting the work "TOO. Billboard series, the work "TOUCH" by Yoko Ono.
The exhibition at the Neue Nationalgalerie invites the public to actively participate beyond mere contemplation - both physically and mentally. The actions often begin on an individual level and then develop into broader, collective actions, demonstrating the transformative power of collective action for peace and imagining a better world. Ono's works call for collective action: Repairing, restoring, cleaning, wishing, imagining, dreaming.
Interaction and self-reflection
Before entering the exhibition, visitors are invited to engage in a moment of self-reflection with "Cleaning Piece" (1996). The sorting of river stones from the region is intended to encourage reflection on one's own joys and sorrows. This is followed by instructions on how to fold paper cranes for peace, which gradually fill the exhibition space. In "Mend Piece" (1966), the audience participates in an act of repair: here, broken clay cups can be put together and "restored with wisdom and love". At the center of the exhibition is the installation "Play It By Trust" (1966/1991), a large chess table at which up to 20 players can dedicate themselves to the almost impossible task of playing a game with only white chess pieces. The instructions are to "play as long as you still know where your pieces are".
War and peace
In "SKY / WATER"(1999), the audience is invited to take a single piece of a sky puzzle, which will lead them to an area of the exhibition dedicated to works dedicated to the pursuit of peace. These include the famous "Bed-In for Peace" in Amsterdam, documented in the film "Mr. & Mrs. Lennon's Honeymoon"(1969), or the ongoing project with newspaper advertisements, which begins with the ad "WAR IS OVER! If you want it"(1969). Almost a dozen newspaper copies reflect the artists' collective call for peace and at the same time capture the state of the world on these special days. A clear connection to Berlin is made by a photographic representation of Ono and Lennon's intervention "WAR IS OVER! If you want it" in West Berlin in 1969. In another exhibition room, Ono's song "Hiroshima Sky Is Always Blue" (1995), which was recorded to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the US bombing of Hiroshima, plays. For Ono, who was twelve years old and living in Japan at the time, this was an incisive experience - an event that had a lasting impact on her lifelong commitment to world peace.
Outside, in front of the iconic building designed by Mies van der Rohe, stands a single "Wish Tree" (1996), a link to the exhibition taking place at the same time in the Gropius Bau.
Curatorial team
"YOKO ONO: DREAM TOGETHER" is curated by Klaus Biesenbach, Director of the Neue Nationalgalerie, Connor Monahan and Jon Hendricks, Studio Yoko Ono.
The exhibition is made possible by the Freunde der Nationalgalerie.
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Tickets can be booked 4 weeks in advance
Location
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